Benois House

The apartment house occupies almost a whole quarter on Kamenoostrovskiy prospect.

The locals call it “the Benois House ” or “the house of the three Benois”, because it was designed by three members of a famous family of architects - brothers Leontiy and Albert and their cousin Yuliy Benois.

After the revolution of 1917 the house’s original residents - princes, counts and prosperous manufacturers were replaced by Bolshevik leaders. The apartments on Kamenoostrovskiy prospect were taken by comrades Zinovyev, Ugarov, Rahya and other Vladimir Lenin’s brothers-in-arms. In April 1926 it became home for the Head of the Party’s Committee in Leningrd Sergey Kirov. Kirov lived here until his death, and a memorial museum is now open for visitors in his former apartment. Composer Dmitry Shostakovich was another famous resident of the Benois House - he had been living here for several years, while working on his Seventh (Leningrad) symphony.

In our times Benois house is known all over Russia due to the numerous TV crime series - the house is situated close to Lenfilm and local TV studio. It is not only attractive to filmmakers for its good location, but also for a labyrinth of almost a dozen intricately connected inner courtyards.